Self drawing tool for a computer-implemented automated design, modeling and manufacturing system

ABSTRACT

A method and system for automatically generating a co-ordination drawing of a project is disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes inputting parametric information, and accessing a file associated with a schematic drawing of a project and identifying a plurality of elements in the schematic drawing from the file. The method further includes obtaining geometrical and connectivity information associated with each of the plurality of elements by analyzing each of the plurality of elements. Additionally, the method includes selecting one or more predefined objects from a spatial database based on the geometrical and connectivity information associated with each of the plurality of elements and the inputted parametric information. The method further includes automatically generating a co-ordination drawing of the project using the one or more predefined objects, wherein the coordination drawing provides routing information of the plurality of elements in the project.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 16/522,470 filed on25 Jul. 2019, U.S. Pat. No. 11,182,956, which is a Continuation of U.S.Ser. No. 15/436,465 filed on 17 Feb. 2017, U.S. Pat. No. 10,410,415,which is a Continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 13/271,634 filed on 12 Oct.2011, U.S. Pat. No. 9,613,458, which is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S.Ser. No. 12/783,573 filed on 20 May 2010, U.S. Pat. No. 10,254,745, anda Continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 13/105,626 filed on 11 May 2011, thedisclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entireties.To the extent appropriate a claim of priority is made to each of theabove-listed applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of Technology

The present disclosure relates to a computer-implemented automateddesign, modeling, and manufacturing system, and more particularlyrelates to a self drawing tool for a computer-implemented automateddesign, modeling, and manufacturing system.

SUMMARY OF THE PRIOR ART

Typically, in designing a construction project, a design engineer usestraditional drafting and computer-aided drafting tools to manuallycreate a coordination drawing of the project. As an input, the designengineer may be provided with a schematic drawing showing the variousmechanical systems and their interconnection. In such case, the designengineer may have to manually determine wall, floor and trade elementsto route the mechanical elements through the wall, floor and other tradeelements based on load and use information like heat load, electricaluse, number of occupants and water requirements. This may be timeconsuming process and may be error prone. In other words, traditionaldrafting and computer-aided drafting (“CAD”) techniques only serve todisseminate all of the information involved in designing and detailing aproject and are time-consuming processes that require a high-level ofinterdisciplinary communication and management between design engineers,product engineers and contractors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This summary is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. § 1.73, requiring asummary of the invention briefly indicating the nature and substance ofthe invention. It is submitted with the understanding that it will notbe used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

A self drawing tool of a computer-implemented automated design,modelling and manufacturing system is disclosed. In one aspect, a methodincludes inputting parametric information, and accessing a fileassociated with a schematic drawing of a project and identifying aplurality of elements in the schematic drawing from the file. The methodfurther includes obtaining geometrical and connectivity informationassociated with each of the plurality of elements by analyzing each ofthe plurality of elements. Additionally, the method includes selectingone or more predefined objects from a spatial database based on thegeometrical and connectivity information associated with each of theplurality of elements and the inputted parametric information. Themethod further includes automatically generating a co-ordination drawingof the project using the one or more predefined objects, wherein thecoordination drawing provides routing information of the plurality ofelements in the project.

The method may include checking conflicts between the plurality ofelements and structural, architectural and trade elements in thecoordination drawing and resolving Conflicts between the plurality ofelements and the structural, architectural and trade elements. Moreover,the method may include outputting the co-ordination drawing to acomputer implemented manufacturing system or project management andaccounting system.

In another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumhaving instructions that, when executed by a computing platform, causesthe computing platform to perform a method described above.

In yet another aspect, a computer-implemented automated design, modelingand manufacturing system includes a means for inputting parametricinformation, a spatial database comprising one or more predefinedobjects, a processor, and memory coupled to the processor. The memoryincludes a self-drawing tool including a file reader module foraccessing a file associated with a schematic drawing of a project andidentifying a plurality of elements in the schematic drawing from thefile.

The self drawing tool also includes an element analyzer for obtaininggeometrical and connectivity information associated with each of theplurality of elements by analyzing each of the plurality of elements.Furthermore, the self drawing tool includes a self draw module forselecting the one or more predefined objects from the spatial databasebased on the geometrical and connectivity information associated witheach of the plurality of elements and the inputted parametricinformation. Moreover, the self drawing tool includes a co-ordinationdrawing generator for automatically generating a co-ordination drawingof the project using the one or more predefined objects, where thecoordination drawing provides routing information of the plurality ofelements in the project.

In further another aspect, a network system for generating aco-ordination drawing of a project includes a plurality of clientdevices for providing a schematic drawing of the project and parametricinformation and for generating a request for a co-ordination drawingusing the schematic drawing of the project. The network system alsoincludes a plurality of database servers having a spatial databasestoring predefined objects, where each of the plurality of designdatabases stores one or more predefined objects. Furthermore, thenetwork system includes a plurality of application servers for selectingthe one or more predefined objects based on the parametric informationand for automatically generating a co-ordination drawing of the projectfor a computer-aided design (CAD) standard platform based on the one ormore predefined objects, and a coordination drawing database for storingthe co-ordination drawing of the project.

Other features of the embodiments will be apparent from the accompanyingdrawings and from the detailed description that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Various preferred embodiments are described herein with reference to thedrawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a self drawing tool for acomputer-implemented automated design, modeling and manufacturingsystem, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary network systememploying a self drawing module for generating a coordination drawingfrom a schematic drawing of a project, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a computing device for implementing one ormore embodiments of the present subject matter.

FIG. 4 is a process flowchart of an exemplary method of generating acoordination drawing of a project from a schematic drawing of theproject, according to one embodiment.

The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and arenot intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A self drawing tool of a computer-implemented automated design,modelling and manufacturing system is disclosed. In the followingdetailed description of the embodiments of the invention, reference ismade to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in whichare shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which theinvention may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice theinvention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may beutilized and that changes may be made without departing from the scopeof the present invention. The following detailed description is,therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of thepresent invention is defined only by the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a self drawing tool 100 for acomputer-implemented automated design, modeling and manufacturingsystem, according to one embodiment. The self drawing tool 100 includesa file reader module 102, an element analyzer 104, a self draw module106, a routing module 108, a standardization module 110, a conflictchecker module 112, a coordination drawing generator 114, and an outputmodule 118.

In some embodiments, the self drawing tool 100 of thecomputer-implemented automated design, modeling and manufacturing systemmay reside in a computing environment as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 .The computing environment includes a single Computer, (e.g., a desktoppersonal computer, a laptop, or a workstation). Alternatively, the selfdrawing module 100 may be implemented on a network of such computers, inwhich case the computing environment includes one or more servers and aplurality of computers connected thereto in a conventional fashion vianetwork connections. In these embodiments, the self drawing Module 100enables a user to generate routing mechanical elements in a project andbill of material required for the project.

In an exemplary operation, the user provides a schematic drawingassociated with the project to the self drawing tool. The schematicdrawing May be stored in a database as a computer readable file. Thefile reader module 102 accesses the file associated with the schematicdrawing from the database and identifies elements in the schematicdrawing from the file. For example, the file reader module 102 maydetermine Mechanical systems (e.g., pipes, fittings, ductwork,equipment, etc.) in the schematic drawing by reading the file. Then, theelement analyzer 104 analyzes each of the elements to obtain geometricaland connectivity information associated with each of the elements. Forexample, the element analyzer 104 may determine wall/floor elements andlocations where mechanical systems may pass through the wall/floorelements in a schematic drawing.

Accordingly, the self draw module 106 connects to a spatial database 116having predefined objects (e.g., air-ducts, pipes, wires and othermechanical system objects) and fetches desired ones of the predefinedobjects from the spatial database 116 based on the geometrical andconnectivity information of the elements. Also, the self draw module 106may consider parametric information inputted by a user by a computeroperator or via an optical reader or computer file reader for selectingthe predefined objects from the spatial database. Exemplary parametricobjects may include structural constraints, heating requirements,ventilation requirements, water requirements, electrical requirements,and occupancy requirements associated with the project.

The routing module 108 then determines clearances between each elementand elements in its close proximity by analyzing structural,architectural, and trade elements in close proximity to the each elementbased on the geometrical and connectivity information of said eachelement. Accordingly, the routing module 108 connects each element withelements in its close proximity using the connectivity information androutes the elements using the fetched predefined objects. For example,the routing module 108 may resize one or more elements in the schematicdrawings based on the clearance information and then route the elementsthrough the wall/floor elements.

Substantially simultaneously, the standardization module 110 applies aset of standards to the routed elements. Once the elements are routed,the conflict checking module 112 checks whether there are any conflictsbetween the routed elements and structural, architectural and tradeelements. In one embodiment, the conflict checking module 112 resolvesthe conflicts (if found) between the elements and the structural,architectural and trade elements. For example, the conflict checkingmodule 112 resolves Conflicts by redirecting the elements in mostefficient manner to avoid the conflicts. In another embodiment, theconflict checking module 112 may prompt the user to resolve theconflicts if user intervention is required. For example, the conflictchecking module 112 flags any potential conflicts determined in therouted elements and highlights potential conflicts and potentialsolutions for assisting a user in determining a resolution. The user mayselect from the potential solutions or may create a different solution.

Finally, the coordination drawing generator 114 generates a coordinationdrawing of the schematic diagram. The coordination drawing thusgenerated provides routing information of the elements in the schematicdrawing and also bill of materials associated with the schematicdrawing. The output module 118 outputs the co-ordination drawing to acomputer implemented manufacturing system or a project management andaccounting system. For example, the coordination drawing shows routingof the elements through the wall/floor elements of the schematic drawingwhich is used for installation of elements in the project. Also, thecoordination drawing contains a bill of materials for accounting, costanalysis, project budget, quoting, and CAD manufacture of producibleitems. The computer implemented manufacturing system may include plasmamachines, coil lines, pipe cutting machines, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary network system 200employing a self drawing module for generating a coordination drawingfrom a schematic drawing of a project, according to one embodiment. Thenetwork system 200 includes database servers 202A-N, application servers204A-N and a coordination drawing database 205. As illustrated, thespatial database 116 resides in the database servers 202A-N,respectively. Further, the self drawing tool 100 resides in each of theapplication servers 204A-N, The network system 200 includes clientdevices 208A-N, client devices 210A-N and client devices 212A-N. Forexample, each client device may be a workstation, a desktop, and alaptop.

In FIG. 2 , each of the application servers 204A-N is coupled to thedatabase servers 202A-N. Also, said each of the application servers204A-N is coupled to the coordination drawing database 206. Further, theclient devices 208A-N, the client devices 210A-N and the client devices212A-N are coupled to the application server 204A, the applicationserver 204B and the application server 204N, respectively. Also, theclient devices 208A-N, the client devices 210A-N and the client devices212A-N are coupled to the coordination drawing database 206.

In one exemplary implementation, the network system 200 is operable forgenerating a coordination drawing of a project. For example, considerthat, a client device 208A makes a request for a coordination drawing ofa project to the application server 204A. In such scenario, the selfdrawing tool 100 in the application server 204A access a file associatedwith the schematic drawing from the database server 202A and identifieselements in the schematic drawing. The self drawing tool 100 thenobtains geometrical and connectivity information of the elements.Further, the self drawing tool 100 utilizes the geometrical andconnectivity information along with parametric objects to selectpredefined objects from the spatial database 116. Accordingly, the selfdrawing tool 100 routes the elements through the structural,architectural and trade elements and generates a coordination drawing ofthe project using the predefined objects. The application server 204Athus stores the coordination drawing in the coordination drawingdatabase 206 as well it is provided to the client device 204A as per therequest.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a computing device 300 for implementing oneor more embodiments of the present subject matter. FIG. 3 and thefollowing discussion are intended to provide a brief, generaldescription of the suitable computing environment in which certainembodiments of the inventive concepts contained herein may beimplemented.

The computing device 300 may include a processor 302, memory 304, aremovable storage 306, and a non-removable storage 308. The computingdevice 300 additionally includes a bus 310 and a network interface 312.The computing device 300 may include or have access to one or more userinput devices 314, one or more output devices 316, the spatial database116 and one or more communication connections 318 such as a networkinterface card or a universal serial bus connection. The one or moreuser input devices 314 may be keyboard, mouse, optical reader, filereader and the like. The one or more output devices 316 may be a displayof the computing device 300. The spatial database 116 may includepredefined objects such as ducts, wires and other mechanical objectsuseful for generating a coordination drawing. The communicationconnections 318 may include a wireless communication network such aswireless local area network, local area network and the like.

The memory 304 may include volatile memory 320 and non-volatile memory322. A variety of computer-readable storage media may be stored in andaccessed from the memory elements of the computing device 300, such asthe volatile memory 320 and the non-volatile memory 322, the removablestorage 306 and the non-removable storage 308, Computer memory elementsmay include any suitable memory device(s) for storing data andmachine-readable instructions, such as read only memory, random accessmemory, erasable programmable read only memory, electrically erasableprogrammable read only memory, hard drive, removable media drive forhandling compact disks, digital video disks, diskettes, magnetic tapecartridges, memory cards, Memory Sticks™, and the like.

The processor 302, as used herein, means any type of computationalcircuit, such as, but not limited to, a microprocessor, amicrocontroller, a complex instruction set computing microprocessor, areduced instruction set computing microprocessor, a very longinstruction word microprocessor, an explicitly parallel instructioncomputing microprocessor, a graphics processor, a digital signalprocessor, or any other type of processing circuit. The processor 302may also include embedded controllers, such as generic or programmablelogic devices or arrays, application specific integrated circuits,single-chip computers, smart cards, and the like.

Embodiments of the present subject matter may be implemented inconjunction with program modules, including functions, procedures, datastructures, and application programs, for performing tasks, or definingabstract data types or low-level hardware contexts, Machine-readableinstructions stored on any of the above-mentioned storage media may beexecutable by the processor 302 of the computing device 300. Forexample, a computer program 324 may include machine-readableinstructions capable of coordination drawing of a project from aschematic drawing of the project, according to the teachings and hereindescribed embodiments of the present subject matter. In one embodiment,the computer program 424 may include the self drawing tool 100 forgenerating a coordination drawing of a project with routing ofmechanical systems through structural, architectural and trade elementsin the project. The computer program 324 may be included on a compactdisk-read only memory (CD-ROM) and loaded from the CD-ROM to a harddrive in the non-volatile memory 322. The machine-readable instructionsmay cause the computing device 300 to encode according to the variousembodiments of the present subject matter.

FIG. 4 is a process flowchart 400 of an exemplary method of generating acoordination drawing of a project from a schematic drawing of theproject, according to one embodiment. At step 402, a file associatedwith a schematic drawing of a project is accessed. At step 404, elementsin the schematic drawing are identified by reading the file. At step406, geometrical and connectivity information associated with each ofthe elements in the project are obtained by analyzing each of theelements. At step 408, one or more predefined objects are selected froma spatial database based on the geometrical and connectivity informationof the elements and parametric information inputted by a user.

At step 410, clearances between elements and structural, architectural,and trade elements in the project are determined. At step 412, theelements are routed through the structural, architectural and tradeelements based on the clearances using the predefined objects. At step414, conflicts between any elements and structural, architectural andtrade elements are determined and resolved. At step 416, a coordinationdrawing of the project is generated. Moreover, in one embodiment, anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructionsthat, when executed by the self drawing tool 100, causes the selfdrawing tool 100 to perform a method described in FIG. 4 .

A skilled person will recognize that many suitable designs of thesystems and processes may be substituted for or used in addition to theconfigurations described above. It should be understood that theimplementation of other variations and modifications of the embodimentsof the invention and its various aspects will be apparent to oneordinarily skilled in the art, and that the invention is not limited bythe exemplary embodiments described herein and in the claims. Therefore,it is contemplated to cover the present embodiments of the invention andany and all modifications, variations, or equivalents that fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the basic underlying principles disclosedand claimed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented automated design, modelingand manufacturing system, comprising: at least one processor; and anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having instructionsthat, when executed by the processor, cause the system to: receive aschematic drawing of a construction project; identify a plurality ofelements in the schematic drawing, including identify a pipe or ductworkin the schematic drawing and a wall or a floor in the schematic drawing,and identify a location where the pipe or the ductwork passes throughthe wall or the floor; receive parametric information associated withthe project, the parametric information including one or more of:structural constraints, heating requirements, ventilation requirements,water requirements, electrical requirements, and occupancy requirementsassociated with the project; and generate, using the elements and theparametric information, a coordination drawing of the project, thecoordination drawing showing routing of the elements based on theparametric information, including routing, based on the parametricinformation, one of the elements through another one of the elements. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein the generated coordinated drawingincludes a bill of materials associated with the schematic drawing. 3.The system of claim 2, further comprising a manufacturing machine formanufacturing one or more of the elements.
 4. The system of claim 3,wherein the manufacturing machine includes one of a plasma machine or apipe cutting machine.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein themanufacturing machine uses the bill of materials to produce an item forthe project.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the generatedcoordination drawing shows routing of the elements through the wall orthe floor.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the generate includes toresize one of the elements based on the parametric information.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the generate includes to determine aclearance between two of the elements, and wherein the routing one ofthe elements through another one of the elements is based on theclearance.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the generate includes toapply a set of standards to the plurality of elements.
 10. Acomputer-implemented method, comprising: receiving a schematic drawingof a construction project; identifying a plurality of elements in theschematic drawing, including identifying a pipe or ductwork in theschematic drawing and a wall or a floor in the schematic drawing, andidentifying a location where the pipe or the ductwork passes through thewall or the floor; receiving parametric information associated with theproject, the parametric information including one or more of: structuralconstraints, heating requirements, ventilation requirements, waterrequirements, electrical requirements, and occupancy requirementsassociated with the project; and generating, using the elements and theparametric information, a coordination drawing of the project, thecoordination drawing showing routing of the elements based on theparametric information, including routing, based on the parametricinformation, one of the elements through another one of the elements.11. The method of claim 10, wherein the generated coordinated drawingincludes a bill of materials associated with the schematic drawing. 12.The method of claim 11, further comprising manufacturing one or more ofthe elements.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the manufacturing isperformed with a plasma machine or a pipe cutting machine.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the manufacturing includes using the bill ofmaterials to produce an item for the project.
 15. The method of claim10, wherein the generated coordination drawing shows routing of theelements through the wall or the floor.
 16. The method of claim 10,wherein the generating includes resizing one of the elements based onthe parametric information.
 17. The method of claim 10, wherein thegenerating includes determining a clearance between two of the elements,and wherein the routing one of the elements through another one of theelements is based on the clearance.
 18. The method of claim 10, whereinthe generating includes applying a set of standards to the plurality ofelements.